By Guy Page
Former Vermont lieutenant governor Brian Dubie has turned to music to voice criticism of Act 181 and the economic pressures facing working Vermonters, composing what he describes as a protest song highlighting rising property taxes and stagnant wages in key rural industries.
Dubie wrote the words to ‘Act 181 Coming, Vermont Working Lands Squeeze’ himself, and used AI to compose and perform the music – something he and wife Penny often do for their children’s birthdays. Listen here:
Dubie, a Republican who served as the state’s 80th lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2011, shared lyrics this week while balancing work in his family’s maple sugaring operation and serving as vice-chair of the Fairfield Selectboard. In a brief message before today’s interview on Hot Off The Press, he noted he was “pulling taps in our sugar woods” and short-handed due to a family member recovering from surgery, underscoring the hands-on perspective reflected in the song.
The lyrics paint a picture of mounting financial strain across Vermont’s agricultural and resource-based sectors. Referencing a sharp increase in property taxes, the song opens: “Property taxes jumped forty-one percent in five years flat / While we’re bustin’ our backs just to keep the lights on, that’s a fact.”
Verses go on to describe dairy farmers, maple producers, and loggers struggling with stagnant pay and rising costs. “Milk check’s stuck in neutral while the costs put on a show,” Dubie writes, while another line highlights maple producers facing low wholesale prices despite strong production. Loggers, he adds, are seeing returns that “barely cover” fuel expenses.
The song also references Act 181, a recently debated land-use and development measure, suggesting it is contributing to what Dubie characterizes as a tightening squeeze on working lands and rural livelihoods.
Dubie has remained active in Vermont public life since his narrow loss in the 2010 gubernatorial race. In addition to his political career, he is a retired commercial airline pilot and served in the Vermont Air National Guard, retiring from the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a colonel.
The lyrics reflect a broader political and economic debate in Vermont over affordability, land use policy, and the future of traditional logging, sugaring, and farming industries.
State officials and supporters of Act 181 have argued the measure is intended to guide sustainable development and balance growth with environmental protections, while critics, including Dubie, contend it may add pressure to already struggling sectors as well as limit rural property rights.